The story of the black silk female knight

"Are these beef balls really that delicious? Honey, you only ate one and you're already trying to steal mine?"

"What?"

Tia then realized something was wrong and her eyes widened:

"What did you say? I ate my beef balls myself? Are you sure?"

"This... should be it?"

Seeing how serious Tia was about to ask, Valensa became less certain. She frowned and thought for a few seconds before replying:

"I was just greeting that witch sister and didn't pay much attention... but I think I saw you put that beef ball in your mouth? Huh? Did I really see it? That's strange... why is my memory of those few seconds a little blurry?"

Tia frowned deeply.

She knew Valensa so well that she could tell at a glance whether Valensa was lying or joking.

Valencia's memory of those few seconds was probably a bit hazy... after all, she was smiling and waving at the witch from before.

It wasn't Valensa who stole the beef balls.

Who could it be? And why did Valensa have the illusion that she herself ate the beef balls?

Tia fell into deep thought.

She first used the spellcaster's meditation to bring her mind into the calmest and clearest state, carefully recalling her memories, and was certain that she had no memory of eating the beef balls.

Then Tia smacked her lips twice and carefully licked her mouth with her tongue... only to be surprised to find that there were indeed some meat residues in the gaps between her teeth, along with a wonderful food aroma.

Could it be that I really ate that beef ball? But why do I have no memory of it? What exactly happened in those few seconds?

Tia looked up at Valensa again and found that Valensa was also looking at her with a puzzled expression, clearly unaware of the matter as well.

Tia immediately turned her gaze to the other people in the restaurant... Since she was wearing a sage-style robe and was a beautiful young girl, there were quite a few witches who had been secretly watching her, and her gaze met that of many of them.

Some of those gazes were too embarrassed to look away, while others openly flirted with them, and one witch even blew a kiss to him.

Tia, oblivious to the teasing she was being subjected to, stood up and, to Valensa's astonishment, hurriedly ran to the nearest witch who was spying on her, asking:

"What did you just see? Did I really eat the beef balls in my own bowl?"

"……what?"

The witch initially thought Tia was there to cause trouble, and had even touched her wand, but she never expected Tia to ask such a question.

She paused for two seconds, then looked at Tia with a strange expression:

"Just now? Didn't you touch that beef ball with your fork and it disappeared? That must be some kind of spatial magic, right? You transferred the beef ball directly into your mouth?"

"No! I didn't! I didn't... Oh!"

Tia's face darkened further... She hurriedly denied it twice, then ignored the witch and rushed over to the other witches who had been spying on her, asking them the same question.

The answers they received were all the same... In the eyes of those witches, as soon as Tia touched the beef ball in the ramen with her fork, the beef ball disappeared, and then she immediately went to snatch Valensa's.

This is very wrong!

Tia was certain that something happened the instant her fork touched the meatball, and it wasn't just a moment, but at least a few seconds!

After all, the beef balls weren't small. Even if she wolfed them down, Tia couldn't possibly swallow them instantly with her eating style. She would need at least a few seconds to chew and savor them.

So what is this...

As Tia walked back to her seat, her mind raced.

If you eliminate all the impossibilities, the remaining possibility, no matter how outrageous, is still the truth.

Someone just messed with time in this hotel lobby!

Someone managed to turn at least four or five seconds into a single instant, stealing the beef balls without anyone except themselves and Valensa noticing!

...No, that's not quite right either...I must have been the one who ate the beef ball; the bits of meat stuck in my teeth and the lingering aroma in my mouth are proof of that.

But why?

And how exactly was this done?

I must have eaten that beef ball, but why do I have absolutely no memory of it? And why didn't anyone else notice when I ate the beef ball?

Tia was very anxious and confused, so she went back to her seat and sat down.

"Honey, are you alright?"

Such unusual behavior naturally caught Valensa's attention long ago.

She had already sat down next to Tia, first touching Tia's forehead with her own, then placing her hand on Tia's chest to activate a healing spell:

"Have you been too tired from training with Sister Ailan Fei'er these past two days? Are you feeling better?"

"...No, listen to me..."

Tia leaned against Valensa, almost trembling, and shared her feelings and speculations:

"There's a strong possibility that there's a powerful being in this hall who can manipulate time..."

She recounted her experiences, feelings, and speculations.

Valensa listened very attentively and cautiously, and pretended to be a paladin praying before a meal. She used divine magic, mental power to enhance her senses and intuition in at least three ways, and quietly swept the hall several times.

Many powerful witches sensed Valencia's scan but paid no attention. Some even puffed out their chests and twisted their waists to show off their figures when Valencia sensed them.

Valensa didn't hold back and carefully observed the more powerful witches in various ways, but she didn't find anything suspicious... and the witches didn't seem to have any ill intentions.

Valensa then opened her eyes again, comforting Tia with her arms around her while frowning in thought. After a while, she tentatively asked:

"Could it be that you're just imagining things because you're too tired, my dear? That witch sister just said that the bathtub in this hotel room is very comfortable and relaxing... How about you leave the task of buying the Qingge Giant Beef Ribeye Steak to me later, my dear, why don't you get a room and rest first?"

"I'm absolutely not mistaken!"

Tia angrily pinched Valensa:

"You don't believe me?"

"...Of course I believe you, darling, but..."

Valensa gave a wry smile and also voiced her speculation:

"If things are really as you say, my dear, and there is someone here who can manipulate time, then why haven't the others noticed anything?"

My dear, you surely know better than I how difficult time magic is—it's a field that even Sister Friggia hasn't fully explored... How could someone cast time magic here without a single trace of magical energy?

Even if there really was someone with exceptionally powerful time magic, how could they possibly interfere with time just for a beef ball?

A bowl of beef noodles costing 50 gold coins is indeed expensive, but would someone who can control their time be short of 50 gold coins for a meal?

"This……"

Valenza's analysis and speculation sounded much more reasonable, leaving Tia even more bewildered.

Could it be that I'm just too tired and am having delusions?

But what exactly happened in those few seconds? Even if I was so tired that I was momentarily distracted and didn't remember eating the beef ball, why did the beef ball disappear the moment my fork touched it, as others perceived it?

Or rather... did the few seconds I spent eating the beef balls disappear? Apart from Valensa having a vague feeling, no one else knew anything?

This situation...

Tia tensed up even more and whispered in Valensa's ear:

"Could it be a sin angel? With her abilities, she should be able to do something like that."

"An angel of sin... Hmm, I don't think so."

Valensa hesitated for a moment before shaking her head and saying:

"With the power of the Sin Angel, perhaps she really could do these things... but why would she do something so meaningless?"

I've ruined her plans several times already, and I haven't even bothered to hide my identity... If we really did have a chance encounter, she would definitely use a fake identity to pretend she doesn't know me, why would she deliberately use her abilities to provoke me in front of me?

"This……"

Tia was even more confused, her eyes somewhat unfocused, as she continued to consider other possibilities.

But almost every possible possibility had been considered... Even though Tia's brain was working at breakneck speed until it was buzzing and aching, she couldn't come up with anything more.

"Woo..."

Just then, Tia suddenly smelled the aroma of meat in her mouth again, a familiar and delicious taste.

When she came to her senses, she saw Valencia holding a fork, feeding her her own beef meatball with a loving smile on her face.

"Don't think too much about it... Since you, my darling Tia, have no memory of eating the beef ball, let's share mine~~"

After saying that, Valensa ignored the fact that many witches were watching them with great interest and kissed Tia on the lips, sharing the delicious beef ball with her.

Tia struggled a little at first, a bit annoyed, but quickly gave up, her body going completely limp in Valensa's arms, her eyes gradually becoming hazy.

Whistles filled the hall, and many of the witches watching cheered loudly with great interest.

"Yes, kiss her! Kiss her hard like this! ...But don't just kiss her! Your hands should do more too, little knight!"

Valensa ignored the noise around her... Kissing in public was fine, but she definitely wouldn't do anything more.

After all, although there were many witches in this hall, there were also men present.

So it's just a kiss, a deep and long kiss.

Only after the delicious beef ball had been completely shared did Valensa release Tia, who had been kissed until she was utterly exhausted.

"How are you, darling? Feeling a little more at ease now? Stop overthinking, right?"

"...Maybe I am just overthinking things."

Tia sighed helplessly and did not insist on her opinion.

She didn't blame Valencia for not agreeing with her... because the whole thing was so bizarre that she herself would find it hard to believe if she were in Valencia's shoes.

So Tia didn't bring it up again and continued eating her ramen with Valensa. She just kept reminding Valensa to be careful during their chat, saying that it was never a bad thing to be cautious.

Valensa readily agreed. After finishing the noodles, she booked a room at the hotel, took Tia to the room so that Tia could take a bath and rest, while she went to find the owner of the beef restaurant.

There aren't many people living in the Witch's Forest, and after the peak mealtime period of about half an hour, all the stalls became quiet, including the beef ingredient expert.

"Hey, uncle."

Valensa seized the opportunity and naturally went up to strike up a conversation:

"I'd like to discuss a business deal with you..."

Meanwhile, after Valensa left the room, Tia took off her clothes, filled the bathtub in the hotel room with water, and planned to take a good bath and rest for a while.

But she wasn't empty-handed; she had a long sword that shimmered with moonlight in her hand.

To put Tia's mind at ease, and so that she could arrive at the rescue immediately if anything happened, Valensa left Moon Kiss with Tia before leaving, so that Tia could keep it with her.

Tia knew the properties of Moon Kiss very well, and she was indeed much more at ease... but after experiencing such a strange thing, her heart was still a little unsettled.

So even when she went into the bath, Tia still brought Moonkiss with her.

Fortunately, nothing else happened after that, and the water used by the inn to bathe its guests was indeed not ordinary water; it must have been mixed with some kind of magic potion, making it quite relaxing to soak in.

Tia gradually relaxed and soaked in the bathtub, looking down at the water.

In her reflection, she was quite beautiful with her red eyes and silver hair, and her smile was even more captivating.

"I'm still quite pretty, aren't I..."

Tia muttered to herself, then suddenly gasped, quickly gripping Moon Kiss tightly. Her skin above the water was instantly covered in cold sweat!

No...that's not right! I wasn't laughing, so why am I laughing in the water?

Just as Tia was about to call Valensa for help, something even stranger happened.

Tia was still smiling in the water, and even waved at Tia:

Good evening, my past self.

Author's message:

PS: The plot of this chapter is actually adapted from the author's own real experience... Once I went to eat rice noodles and a meatball in my bowl mysteriously disappeared. It didn't fall out, and I have no memory of eating it... At that time, I had just finished reading JO5 and strongly suspected that someone in the rice noodle shop had used King Crimson.